D'Amato, with deep bench, may not run Earls Rock in Frank Kilroe Mile

ARCADIA, Calif. - Trainer Phil D’Amato has such a deep team of turf milers that Earls Rock may not be part of the Grade 1 Frank Kilroe Mile on March 4 despite a win in Saturday’s Grade 3 Thunder Road Stakes at Santa Anita.

D’Amato plans to run Hong Kong Harry and Balnikhov in the $500,000 Kilroe Mile, the track’s leading wintertime turf race.

Hong Kong Harry won three stakes in 2022, including the Grade 2 Seabiscuit Handicap at Del Mar on Nov. 26. Balnikhov, a two-time stakes winner in 2022, was second by a nose in the Grade 2 Mathis Mile for 3-year-olds at Santa Anita on Dec. 26.

Hong Kong Harry worked five furlongs in 59.80 seconds on the infield training track on Sunday, while Balnikhov worked the same distance in 1:01.60.

Earls Rock won his first graded stakes in the $103,000 Thunder Road Stakes at a mile, closing from sixth in a field of 11 in the final quarter-mile to win by a nose over Du Jour.

:: Get ready for Santa Anita racing with DRF Past Performances, Picks, and Clocker Reports.

“Earls Rock ran hard,” D’Amato said on Sunday. “That was a nice group of horses he beat.”

The Thunder Road was Earls Rock’s first start since a win in an allowance race at Del Mar on Dec. 4 and third start since returning from a 19-month layoff in November. A series of ailments, including complications after he was gelded in early 2022 and a minor injury, contributed to the lengthy break.

“That horse has had bad luck,” D’Amato said. “Gelding cost him half a year. We took him out of training for a minor issue. He overcame it all.”

Owned by Anthony Fanticola, Earls Rock has won 4 of 7 starts and earned $207,799. Earls Rock has won 4 of 6 starts since arriving from Ireland in late 2020.

D’Amato is thinking of a long-term approach with Earls Rock, rather than a start in the Kilroe Mile. Earls Rock won the minor Baffle Stakes for 3-year-olds at 6 1/2 furlongs on turf in early 2021.

“He showed he can be competitive in graded stakes,” D’Amato said. “I don’t have to rush him in a Grade 1.”

The stable also has Count Again in the turf mile division. The winner of the 2022 Kilroe Mile, Count Again is approaching a comeback later this winter. He has not raced since May.

The Kilroe Mile is likely to include Du Jour and Air Force Red, who was third in the Thunder Road as the 9-5 favorite. Air Force Red stalked pacesetter Dark Shift and was beaten a nose and a neck, a loss that ended a two-race winning streak in stakes.

Trained by Leonard Powell, Air Force Red led throughout the restricted Lure Stakes last fall and the Grade 2 Joe Hernandez Stakes on the hillside turf course on Dec. 31.

“I was happy,” Powell said. “He settled very nice. We learned he can rate and still be in the race."

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.